Skamla 2003

Skam-La (5630m) was crossed by an all Pakistani, self organized team comprising of 8 members on the 31st of July, 2003. The team members included Hasan Karrar (Lead), Ali Moscow, Hammad Kazi, Hassan Zubair, Raza Kazmi, Rizwan Bajwa, Syed Ali and Yasir Khokhar. The pass is a gentle ascent but is prone to avalances from the left and right hand sides, it is also heavily crevassed near the summit and requires a careful traverse of these cravasses. Crampons and rope is an absolute essential for this trek. Our descent was towards the right of the pass looking towards Sim Gang through an ice gulley. The gulley is about 200m of 70-80 degree ice. The ice is prone to melting by 10am in clear skies and turns to mush around 2pm. Fixing an anchor at the top is required for a safe descent however we managed to climb down from a half-way point by cutting steps. All memebers should be equipped with ice axes for the descent. The photographs section has detailed shots of this part of the trek--note that the perspective of the photographs may not indicate the actual incline.

Near the bottom of the descent is a fairly large bergshrund that is not obvious while descending. Care must be taken while crossing this as it is wide and deep. There may be another descent route towards the left of the summit that is steeper for the first 50m or so but gentle after that, however the route towards that part of the pass was blocked on our ascent and is likely to be blocked unless major changes occur in the strucutre at the summit.

The crossing of Sim Gang is recommended to be done on skis rather then a roped-up party as it is heavily crevassed and most of the crevasses are hidden. We spotted and opened many hidden crevasses on our route. An experienced roped-up party may not have much trouble negotiating the numerous crevasses across this region.

The crossing of Skam-La is an exhillirating experience and the landscape is unlike that seen on any other popular treks, however it requires experience and a strong team for a safe crossing. We wish you luck! :)

Skamla 2002